Ornamental transfers and indicia presenting heat activated decoratives are well known and are typically applied to cloth and other substrates, particularly clothing. These decoratives, particularly heat activated decoratives, are used to provide numbers on sports jerseys, names on shirts and company logos on uniforms. There are several types of heat activated decoratives. Many decoratives include a hot melt adhesive as a layer which is bonded to the cloth surface. The upper layer can be made from a variety of different materials. These are applied to a substrate by heat, pressure and time sufficient to melt the hot melt adhesive layer and permit penetration of the melted adhesive into the surface of the garment. Other decoratives are formed from thermosetting resins which are cured as they are applied to the substrate.
In most applications, these decoratives do not need to be removed by solvent or heat. Therefore, thermoset decoratives are quite acceptable. Further in most applications the decoratives need only withstand temperatures up to about 140.degree. F. These are the temperatures typically encountered in home dryers. Known decoratives generally hold up well when subjected to such temperatures as well as the alkaline condition of a normal washing.
Prior art decoratives which can withstand the condition of home laundries are never suitable for application onto rental uniforms. Rental uniforms are washed in industrial laundry facilities or hospital laundry facilities. Industrial and hospital laundry facilities use high temperature dryers wherein the ambient temperature of the interior of the dryer reaches at least about 300.degree.-400.degree. F. and the wall of the dryer reaches about 500.degree. F. Commercial laundries also use extremely alkaline wash water which is heated to about 200.degree. to about 212.degree. F.
Further, any indicia on a rental uniform must be removable or else that uniform is relegated to permanent use. For example, if a uniform is permanently marked with--Bill--it is relegated for permanent use by someone named Bill. This would require a prohibitive amount of inventory.
Because of the extreme conditions which a garment is subjected to in an industrial laundry and because the indicia or transfer must be removable, uniform rental companies have resorted to embroidered patches to provide names and other logos for rental uniforms. The embroidered patches are sewn onto the garment or may be heat sealed using a hot melt adhesive. The outer surface of the patch of course is cloth that can withstand the high temperature of the dryer even the drum wall. The embroidered patch can be removed from the garment by either cutting the stitches or dissolving the hot melt adhesive in an appropriate solvent. Embroidered patches are attractive but are stiff and can cause discomfort to the wearer of the garment. Further, embroidered patches are substantially more expensive than laminated, heat activated decoratives.
Heat activated decoratives and transfers commonly used in non-commercial applications are not removable or cannot withstand the high temperatures of a commercial laundry or the high alkalinity of the commercial laundry. Many such heat activated transfers upon striking the drum of the dryer will partially melt and smear onto adjacent garments. Some transfers are dissolved by the activity of either the alkaline washing or of a dry cleaning fluid. Transfers with a polyvinyl chloride thermoplastic layer when subjected to a solvent will dissolve and migrate into the cloth itself thus permanently marring the garment.
Such a transfer is disclosed by Liebe, Jr. U.S. Pat. No. 3,660,212. Liebe discloses a heat activated transfer formed from a polyvinyl chloride lower layer and a surface layer of a cross-linked polyvinyl chloride plastisol. The plastisol is highly pigmented and acts as an ink. This decorative transfer cannot be removed and cannot withstand the high temperatures of a commercial dryer.
Another decorative is disclosed in Mahn U.S. Pat. No. 4,390,387. This patent discloses a flocked decorative with a lower thermoplastic layer with an upper flock layer bonded to a thermoset layer. But the thermoplastic layer cannot withstand the high temperatures of a commercial dryer. Further, the thermoset layer is an acrylic and cannot withstand the strong alkaline condition of a commercial laundry.